Work today went by fast. The highlight came early on when I taught a functional training class.
I’ve loved subbing for the instructor who usually teaches the class while she has been out for the past few weeks and I’m hoping I can regularly teach a similar class when the group exercise schedule permanently changes at our gym at the end of August.
Lunch
Lunch today was enjoyed in the break room.
I packed tuna salad that I ate wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla with sugar snap peas and a banana on the side.
Once work was done for the day, I drove to Great Clips to put my coupon to good use and got a trim.
It was nothing fancy, but my ends needed it!
By the time I made it home, the daily summer thunderstorm rolled in, so a psychotic Sadie greeted me. She recently developed a fear of thunder that never plagued her as a puppy. Her body shakes and she crawls all over me, panting like crazy when it thunders. She used to only get like this when we crossed bridges (weird, I know), so Ryan and I are quite confused. Why, at the age of five, is she now scared of thunder?
Her Thundershirt seems to help a little, but I’m hoping this fear of thunder thing is something Sadie will grow out of sometime soon. Seeing her all spastic breaks my heart!
Other things that make Sadie freak out:
- The floating toy in our pool (aka “Bob Barker”)
- The man that runs around our neighborhood in a yellow t-shirt and Vibrams
- Skateboards
- The smoke alarm
- The bathtub
Question of the Afternoon
- Pet owners: What freaks out your pet?
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Vibrams freak me out too, Sadie. No shame in that game.
The post man, thunder, and pretty much any loud noise…I’ve a little Westie….she’s 12 now and it doesn’t take much to scare her and set her in to a fit of barking!
Cans and cellophane wrappers, anything really that ‘crinkles’, she will sit there but turn her head away and look back through the corner of her eye like she’s not really looking at all, so hilarious!! But all in all she’s pretty darn calm!!
Tucker has recently developed anxiety that he didn’t have as a puppy. He’s about 5 years old as well and we actually had to put him on anti-anxiety medicine. We still haven’t exactly figured out what will work best to treat him…it was so much easier when he was fearless!
Thunder freaks out our Bernese Mtn Dog. Recently, over the weekend my step dad bought an Indian Drum from the Pow Wow and Kasa (the Pomeranian) is quite scared of it. Random!
The smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector sounds freak out my dog. About six months ago, he started whining in the middle of the night and pacing, waking me up. About a minute later, the carbon monoxide detector went off. It was the eeriest thing, as though he knew it was going to go off…and he warned me first!
My dog HATES it when people stick out their tongues and shakes uncontrollably during thunderstorms. Does the thunderbuddy actually work, though? I should look into that!
I have 2 dogs, a yellow lab who is afraid of mops, brooms, vacuums, basically any cleaning supply and a terrier- mix who is afraid of being groomed, sneezes, coughs, trampolines, and the bird noises my alarm clock makes. What a dog just doesn’t like is so random.
Puddles….not rain, not water (she actually loves baths)….just puddles. She freaks out and tries to walk as far away from them as possible.
When she was a puppy, she was scared of grass. She would look for dirt or mulch to pee in instead of grass. If none was available, you would have to physically pick her up and put her in the grass to pee and she would WHINE whine whine (while peeing). Thank goodness she’s outgrown that one.
We have a German Shorthaired Pointer who is a hunting dog, so he doesn’t mind thunder…but he gets SO freaked out by skateboards/skateboarders!
Haha Sadie is too funny!
Hmm things Annie is scared of:
Number one fear is definitely making a farting noise with your mouth. She sprints out of the room! Someone actually did it once in the car by accident and she darted underneath my husband who was driving, yep, right by the pedals — not safe!
Folding laundry
Water
Newspapers and magazines
Opening your mouth wide in front of her
Yeaaahhh she has issues.
Maisy is 1 and she hates motorcycles, bikes and golf carts.
We have two rescues and the newer one is still afraid of a lot of things. He used to be afraid of trashcans (just walking by them on the sidewalk), but I’m happy to say he’s over that. He’s still afraid of skateboards, bikes, basketballs (we live next to a bball court), and most people .. especially men. Makes life a little challenging 🙂
My German Shorthair is terrified of the most odd things…He is scared of my husband’s weight vest (not on. just when it’s in the corner chillin’) and my husband’s diving equipment. He is afraid of umbrellas (open or closed). He gets scared when someone takes a towel and swats at something. He doesn’t like any loud noises, or clapping, or any gun noises (clicking). We adopted him in December, so we have no idea why he is afraid of those things. 🙁 Makes me sad.
P.S. We were in Lady Lake, FL this past weekend visiting my husband’s grandma. I waved as we passed Ocala. I’m sure you saw me. 😉
i have 2 dogs – my puppy freaks out when he sees the garbage truck! i took him on the front yard to use the bathroom this morning and he whimpered as the garbage truck pulled up to our sidewalk. both of my dogs also go spastic when they see or hear the mailman and the gardeners.
My older dog was TERRIFIED of thunder, but he’s mostly deaf now, so unless it’s a really bad/loud storm, he pays no mind. He’s also afraid of the vacuum, the camera, and plastic bags (all of which could never hurt him, lol). My younger dog is afraid of rustling in the bushes and loud noises at night (things that could hurt her haha). Silly dogs!
Oo and the younger dog is afraid of the pool and bathtub… meanwhile she will dive in the ocean/puddles/shower stall like it’s nothing haha!
thunder & fireworks freak my dog out….
My dog hates the baby gate! She does anything in her power to avoid it! At least we know she will never try to jump it or knock it over! 😉
Many years ago, my boyfriend’s family kept the dog off the couch (where he could see out their front window) by just laying a baby gate on it when they went away. He never touched it! I always thought that was funny.
My lab is afraid big guys with beards. She will not leave them alone. Always makes me wonder if something happened before we got her.
My dog goes bizerk when she hears any kind of siren. She makes whining/barking noises that sound EXACTLY like the sirens. I live in a city, close to a hospital, so this happens pretty much every day.
Hana hates having her paws touched. She has gotten better with age about us touching them but if anyone else does, look out!!! Not a happy camper!
I have a pet rabbit with floppy ears, and he is scared of a couple things:
Thunder
Lawn Mowers
THE VACUUM
Our puppy Maple is just five months old, so she’s afraid of lots of things! Recently it’s the grates in the sidewalks (we just moved to New York City), and walking on the floors in dog shops – I think all the smells make her nervous.
Poor Sadie!
Cookie (my 15 pound, 10 year old dog) is terrified of the vacuum, pretzel sticks, and little kids. She’s a weirdo
I know a dog trainer told me if you comfort the dog while they’re shaking, they’ll end up more scared and you have to let them just get over it. You almost have to act like nothing is going on. It’s SO hard to do, but it definitely works! I’ve done it a lot with Elmo, like the rumble strips along highways!
My dog is afraid of kids! It’s crazy because he’s like 110 pounds, therefore outweighs literally EVERY kid that tries to pet him by at least 70 pounds, but he darts around and hides behind my legs whenever a kid comes up and asks to pet him. I’m really not sure WHY he is afraid of them, but it’s kind of hilarious/sad.
i have a big husky malamute mix and she is terrified of kids too! it freaks me out because she’ll bark at them non stop, and ya, it’s rediculous because she is so big why is she afraid of little children lol
Delivery trucks, garbage trucks, pretty much anything that rumbles and makes loud noises. That and fireworks or gunshots, and he tries climbing into our laps too, shivering and panting. Oh and the sound of water running in the bathtub. He hears that and thinks he’s getting a bath, which he hates. Last time I ran the tub to do an ice bath for myself and he was whimpering, shaking and panting on the couch as if I was going to drag him to the tub. poor puppy.
I love the puppy posts!! Sasha freaks out when we doing jumping jacks or jump in general haha
My vizslas are afraid of thunder(they are 6 and this only happened as they got older), fireworks, food crackling in a pan on the stove and smoke detectors. I have always wondered about the thunder shirt.
My labradoodle is super scared of the vacuum! He hides everytime we get it out!
My Vizsla is scared of the noises my phone makes…not all phones, just mine. Smoke detectors & unfamiliar people in hats also freak her out.
A broom or a vaccum freaks out my boxer Laila I don’t want to laugh because she truly is scared, but its too cute!
It’s common for pups to adopt phobias in “older” age. Same thing happened with my girl..never a care in the world until she hit about 6-7 years old, then she was TERRIFIED of thunder, wind, the sound of our alarm buttons being pushed… 🙁
In addition to Sadie’s thundershirt, you may want to try Bach’s Rescue Remedy. We used to give our girl a few drops on a treat before a thunderstorm. It helped take the edge off, but is certainly not a “cure”. She would shake our entire bed with her panting/shaking. 🙁
My dog was never phased by thunder. Now, at the age of 3 she’s terrified. She shakes and pants as well — so weird!
My little pup is scared of everything!!!! He’s scared of the refrigerator because at one time things have fallen out of it and now he’s just freaked, the vacuum for sure, anything with loud noises really…he’s a little scaredy cat! Hopefully he’ll grow out of that stage since he’s only 5 months!
That is odd that she would have a fear all the sudden. My dog’s most recent fear is this new grocery cart I got to bring my groceries up in my apartment. My husband came in with it making racecar noises. I wonder why he’s scared of it… 😉
my pup, a 2 y/o husky malamute has always been a scardy cat. she’s afraid of a lot of things but the funniest is balloons. i didn’t know she was afraid of balloons until we blew a bunch up for a party and we left them all over the floor and left the room. when i went back she was sitting practically in the (unlit) fire place surrounded by them. to escape she leaped onto the coffee table! it was absolutely hilarious!
Do you eat the banana for lunch with the tortilla or as a snack later in the day?
My 3 year old australian cattle dog is fearless (maybe because she is deaf? haha), but she takes her neighborhood watch patrol very seriously and goes nutzo over CATS!!!, runners, the mail lady, oh and those ultra-threatening babies in strollers. Our other ACD is about 9 months is is biggest wimp in comparison! She’s terrified of the vacuum, my hairdryer, pretty much all other loud noises, and getting sprayed down with the hose (unlike deafo who attacks it with glee!). Haha talk about polar opposites.
my dog HATES the vacuum. she barks at it and runs away and repeats that cycle the whole time. so weird!
Oh lord, I could go on for days. Anyone carrying ANYTHING – a box, a bag, a suitcase; cars parked in the parking lot; anyone walking on the sidewalk by our apartment; my dad…my dog is a gem (but I LOVE her)!!
My pets aren’t freaked out by much of anything, really. They nap during hurricanes, while the vacuum’s 2 feet away. The only thing they get excited about is the doorbell!
my pup hates plastic bags! one night we were walking her and one blew up off the street and right into her face. her immediate fright and ensuing flailing caused the bag to get tangled in her collar and then on her legs….very traumatic…haven’t been able to cure her of it yet.
also — not that I want to make you feel bad for getting a job haha but your suddenly being regularly out of the house in the mornings could be causing her to just be sensitive to everything. my husband was out of work on disability when we first got our dog and she completely lost her marbles when he was finally able to go back and she was alone. on the bright side, if this is the case with Sadie, she will hopefully just adjust to her new independent mornings and get back to regular as our dog did.
How was Great Clips? I have the same coupon and need a trim, but I’ve had bad experiences with cheap chains before.
The smoke alarm in our house is so incredibly sensitive and it’s gotten to the point where if the cats hear us turn the vent fan on above the oven, they’re under the bed because they know it’s coming. So sad 🙁
While our Lucy-girl is afraid of thunderstorms, anything loud, she is terrified of flies (yes, the insect) as well!!!!! She freaks out just as much as she does when hearing thunder when she sees a fly inside of her house. My husband and I think it’s funny, but it truly does break your heart when they’re that scared of something! Lucy has a thundershirt as well, but to be honest, I don’t think it does much for her….good luck with Sadie!!!!
My dogs are absolutely petrified of the smoke alarm…WAY worse than storms. I think that they have really good hearing and so the high pitch noise is about 10x worse for them than it is for us.
Vizslas are such characters!! Isn’t it funny how there’s always one man in the neighborhood that they don’t like?? I love it
My dog freaks out st smoke alarms too. I wish there was done way to communicate and calm them down. It is so hard to watch them tremble and not be able to calm them down. I hope Sadie outgrows it soon!
My sister has one dog that is afraid of children, skateboards and smoke alarms. The other one is incredibly afraid of thunder, to the point that if it starts raining, she b-lines it home and shakes in a corner in fear of what might come.
My dog is afraid of garbage bags on the side of the road and our new puppy is afraid of traffic…we’re hoping he grows out of that one.